


The Next Step

by curlsandcrown



Series: Universes in which Bughead gets engaged [2]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Long-Term Relationship(s), Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 22:05:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12780531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curlsandcrown/pseuds/curlsandcrown
Summary: Jughead decides one day that he and Betty need something new in their relationship.





	The Next Step

Jughead isn't sure when this seed of an unknown lingering idea in the back of his mind blossoms into a full-fledged plan.

One day he's walking in the city after a meeting with his writing agent when he passes a jewelry store and backtracks until he's standing in front of the window display, all sorts of jewelry staring back at him. His mind races, reflecting back over the years, though he can’t give any reasoning as to why -especially right here at this particular moment. Things between him and Betty have never been better. They're both well-paid adults, having purchased an amazingly restored brownstone in the city with the money from his first novel. Betty is writing for a major magazine where Veronica also works and maintaining her own website for New York City local news with a few other writers.

Needless to say, everything has been perfect. His dad comes to visit at least once a month and they handle Betty's parents whenever they make the trek into the city along with her sister, Polly and the twins.

But suddenly he just gets this feeling that something is missing from their life as he stares at the sparkling jewels in the middle of the day on a crowded street. They have the house he's always wanted, a backyard in the city which is extremely hard to get, the beautiful blonde he's admired since he was twelve, grown-up jobs doing exactly what they wanted since talking about it in the days of the Blue and Gold.

Moving closer, he adjusts his trademark crown beanie, which is now only worn in the wintertime and looks at the rings. There’s something that sparks inside him at the thought of Betty walking around with a ring that he put on her finger, making every man and woman in all of New York aware that she belongs to him. Some primal instinct of wanting the flirtatious looks to stop whenever he’s beside her.

Before he knows it, he’s making a phone call.

“Hello, Jughead. Is everything okay?” Veronica’s melodic voice fills his ear.

“Yes and no. Can you meet me?”

There’s a concerned edge to her voice as she replies. “Of course! Text me the address and I’ll be right there. Well...as long as New York traffic complies. I’ll see you soon.”

He isn’t ashamed to say that he’s nervous about going inside the store. He looks down at his appearance - old beanie, nice-ish looking jeans, a plain t-shirt in replacement of one of his old ratty S ones, and a nice leather jacket that Veronica had gifted him for Christmas. Someone who looks like him doesn’t belong in a store like that, they'd be judging the weight of his wallet by his appearance. (His old insecurities still flare up every now and then.) He's sure they’d make a running joke out of it and be all ‘sir, let me show you the more affordable rings’ which would likely have a diamond the size of the small studs Betty would wear in her ears in high school.

Turning around, he moves to a part of the building with no windows and leans back against it, staring up at the cloudy sky and watches his breath come out as little puffs. It feels like a switch has been turned on inside of him. Even Archie hasn’t proposed yet and this feeling that’s come over him feels like it came from left field.

His eyes close briefly and before he knows it, the sound of clacking heels along the pavement stop near him and his head lulls over to where his girlfriend’s best friend is standing.

“What’s the emergency?”

Jughead stares at her then looks up at the sign he’s standing next to. It takes her a minute before she gasps and looks into his eyes again. “Something has happened, Veronica.”

“Did you,” she pauses and stares at him. “Did you propose and she said no?”

“Thanks for the lack of confidence.” He rolls his eyes then stands up straight, tucking his hands into his pockets. “No, I was walking home from my meeting and I just passed this place and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It hasn’t even remotely crossed my mind until I walked by it and just...I don’t know. All of a sudden I was thinking about how great everything has been and it’s like something just clicked into place that this is what’s missing. Like the powers that be just slapped me in the face.”

She stares at him and blinks, trying to wrap her head around his words. Maybe they weren’t the most eloquent but that’s just how it flitted across his mind. But then her eyes are starting to mist up and she wipes a finger under her eye and then she’s immediately back to the perky woman he’s known for years.

“Okay! So, are you wanting my help?”

He rubs his hand over the back of his neck and looks at the door again. “Yeah, I mean you know that side of Betty more than I do. We’ve never talked about rings. And I didn’t want to go in there dressed like,” he runs his hand down his body then shrugs.

“You are a confident man. Who cares what you’re dressed like, Jug. You look hot.”

It’s not the cold that’s making his cheeks burn at the moment. “They’ll be judgemental bitches.”

At that comment, Veronica beams up at him then takes his hand, forcing him to walk in a different direction than the store.

“Veronica, the store…”

“I have a much better place. It doesn’t matter who walks in there, they’ll treat you like you’re the prince of England.”

Internally he groans, because if that’s the case then the rings will be something that only the prince of England can afford.

\--

He changes his mind.

This is single-handedly the best service he’s even gotten while shopping and Veronica’s smug smile screams ‘I told you so’ all over it. It probably helps that she’s dressed like she would own a place like this with her dress pants and expensive silk top, her pearls flashing brightly at anyone who dares to glance at that part of her chest.

They’re bringing the two of them champagne while consulting on what they’d like to look at. Jughead runs his thumb across his bottom lip as they go over different cuts and he looks at Veronica, no doubt like a deer in headlights.

Veronica leans over and places her hand on top of his. “Do you have a price range?”

“Not really but I mean, I don’t want to have to sell my house to afford it, if you catch my drift.”

Both women laugh and he feels his ears burning even though his beanie is sitting in his back pocket at the moment. The saleswoman nods and writes down a couple of notes.

“Mr. Jones, are you wanting something simple or a little over the top.”

Again, he feels like a dumbass. “Veronica, I honestly have no clue. That’s why I called you. Betty doesn’t wear a ton of jewelry, mainly earrings, and a necklace. My gut says simple but my mind thinks ‘this thing has to be amazing.’ So…” he trails off with a shrug.

With a nod, Veronica makes eye contact with the saleswoman and they set off to find different rings. Setting his head in his hands, he wonders why this had to happen today. He didn’t even know how he would possibly want to propose. Would it be today if he got a ring? How have others proposed? Hell, how did his dad do it? Of course, there’s the fancy dinner or going on a vacation. Should he do it in front of all their friends and family?

He groans then leans back in the chair, draining his champagne then resting his head back against the chair.

There’s Valentine’s Day but that’s such a cliche. New Year’s has passed and he definitely can’t hide a ring until Christmas with Betty’s Nancy Drew detective skills still lingering around.

“Jughead, I found a few that I think she would love. Take a look?”

The raven-haired girl gives him a reassuring smile and he leans forward, seeing about half a dozen options. There’s a few that he immediately pushes away with a look of disdain. If he has to look at this thing on her finger for the rest of his life, it can’t be something hideous.

After he’s pushed those away, he looks at the rest of them and picks them up individually. None of them scream Betty to him so far. As they’ve grown up and moved into adulthood, the pastels have mostly disappeared along with the cardigans, a more confident and sexy woman’s wardrobe settled into her closet, so it feels like the ring should match.

But there, in the middle is something that just draws him to it. He can tell Veronica’s eyebrows furrow a bit. It has a shade of pink to the metal, a fairly big sized diamond sits in a dainty halo of diamonds on a thin band that’s also got small diamonds running along it and a thin rose gold wedding band to match.

It honestly takes his breath away a little bit.

“This is the one.”

Veronica holds her hands over her heart then leans over to hug him. “She’s going to love it, Jug. Thank you for letting me help.”

He hugs her tightly in thanks then blows out a breath. Now the hard part.

\--

It takes him a couple of weeks to plan everything and to discretely decorate their backyard while she’s off at work when he’s supposed to be working on his deadline. He’s decent at cranking out what he needs to when it comes down to making it right down to the minute, so he figures it’ll all be fine.

Betty is currently at work as he plugs in the twinkle lights that he’s strung along the dressed and railing of their backyard, admiring his work. It has a tiny garden and a firepit with some chairs and a staircase that twists going up to their bedroom but there’s also an entrance on the ground floor to get to their kitchen. Then don’t even get him started on how weird it looked while he was walking down the street with a wooden ladder to go along with his proposal on the back porch, not to mention that it looks bizarre when they have a staircase.

Now that she’s not here, he’s got it propped up against the top balcony and climbs up it, looking down at the patio. The fire pit will be lit up but the way the lights look in the two trees that they have and along the fence looks pretty damn good. Once he’s got everything in place, knowing that she won’t be coming outside anytime soon, he gets back down then unplugs the lights.

As soon as he starts to head inside, something wet drops onto his nose and he realizes that it’s starting to flurry outside. With a grin, he runs inside and changes then makes a few adjustments in his plans.

Betty walks inside and sighs in relief that the fireplace is warming up the downstairs. Tugging off her coat and scarf, she yells out to Jughead that she home then hangs them up. She can smell something cooking but she decides to go upstairs and see if he’s working on his newest book.

“Juggie?”

He looks up from his desktop, wearing a jacket which makes her tilt her head at him. “Are you cold?”

Jughead shrugs and leans his head back when she moves to give him a kiss. Her hands are cold and he shivers before relaxing back in his office chair. “A little more now that you put your popsicle hands all over my face.” With a playful roll of her eyes, he looks over her work outfit and smiles. “Why don’t you take a hot bath and change? I’ll go finish up dinner.”

“That sounds amazing. I won’t be in there too long since I want to hear all about your day.”

She swears that he almost has a look of panic but then he smirks. “Not much to tell, babe, but alright.”

She blows him another kiss then moves towards their bedroom, taking a look outside their floor to ceiling windows at the snow that’s falling a bit more rapidly now. With a shake of her head, she pulls out leggings and her favorite off the shoulder sweater then fills up the tub.

Twenty glorious minutes later, the water is cold and she starts to drain it. Pulling on what she laid out, she goes to her closet and grabs some socks and her house boots that she likes to wear since her toes get extra cold until she can cuddle up with her boyfriend on the couch. Just as she tugs on the left boot and lets her hair down to settle in loose curls on her shoulders, there’s a thunking sound against the window.

She moves over and looks up at the sky, checking for hail even though that would be completely bizarre for January. Betty is about to move out the room when she hears it again. Clearly feeling like she has lost her mind, she unlocks the door to the balcony and pushes it open, only to meet the site of Jughead on a ladder.

“Hey there, Juliet.”

“Juggie, what are you-” she pauses then glances at her boyfriend with his infamous smirk on his face.

He’s got on her favorite white shirt that comes down to his elbows, the buttons at his neck unbuttoned even though they stop right below his clavicle and some worn out light colored jeans. The beanie is now gone and his dark hair is threatening to fall into his eyes while a small bucket of pebbles are sitting next to him while his elbows lean against the railing.

Her heart flutters as she moves towards him then gasps as the lights in the background twinkle along with the snow and the sunset. The trees, the fence and all the railing coming up to their balcony is covered in string lights.

“Jug, what is all of this?” she asks with a breathless laugh, moving forward while he holds his hand out.

“I’m not great at the big, romantic cliche speeches but I am really good at stating the facts, Betty. You have been by my side, fighting for me since that day at the Blue and Gold when you wanted me to write for you. You stood by me when I got sent to Southside High and held onto me while we waited for my dad to be released from jail. You were there to help me to fill out my college applications and you cheered me on when I got signed on to my publisher. You’ve been my best friend throughout it all, every single piece of happiness and darkness that has filled my life. Nothing has felt more right in my life than all the times that you have been my side. I've never been happier since we packed up the motorcycle and left Riverdale. I want you to be next to me for the rest of our lives. I love you, Betty Cooper.”

He pauses and reaches down into his pocket, her eyes following his hand when he presents a light pink velvet box that makes her give him a watery laugh, memories of her childhood bedroom coming to mind. Betty’s teeth dig into her bottom lip as she moves even closer and holds onto the balcony railing, her eyes finally meeting his stormy blue ones up close. Jughead opens the box revealing a beautifully, dainty rose gold ring with diamonds sparkling up at her.

“Will you marry me?”

It’s almost as if time stops for her. The snow has stopped in midair, a few snowflakes resting snug in the dark strands of his hair and the lights causing blurs in the background. She’s even noticed the fire pit blazing away. The pair of blue eyes that she’s looking into are full of love and hope for a future that’s within their grasp.

Just like that, time moves again but this moment will forever be ingrained her heart and mind.

“Yes,” she whispers as tears fill her eyes. “Jughead Jones, I would love to be your wife. I love you.”

Betty moves forward and just like moments ago, her hands cup his face and she kisses him while salty tears from the both of them move over their lips. Pulling back, he grabs her left hand and slides the ring on. Her heart nearly stops but then he’s climbing over the edge and pulls her against him, deepening their kiss and she’s almost sure that her heart has burst from the pure love that he’s pouring into her.

“Do you like it?”

Biting her lip she looks down and watches as it glistens on her finger. She nods, too scared that her voice will crack and she would cry even more.

“I love it,” she whispers.

“Do you mind if I borrow it for a second?”

Her eyebrows furrow together as she nods. Jughead takes the ring and sets it back into the box, letting it stay open on the railing where the ladder is at, the background of the proposal showing up even better in the background. He takes out his phone and snaps a photo, then quickly returns the ring to her finger.

“What are you doing?” she asks with a giggle, wrapping her arms around his middle since it still is insanely cold outside.

“Sending a photo to Veronica,” he says cooly like it’s not a life-changing moment that just happened.

Jughead: She said yes.

Veronica: I knew she would! So happy for you. Now toss some hints towards Archie.

Later that evening when they’re laying in bed, sheets wrapped around their naked bodies but her left hand resting on his chest over his heart, Betty looks up at him then kisses his jaw.

“Can we get married in the winter? Snow and twinkle lights might be my new favorite thing.”

“Anything you want, Betts.”

 

\--

Patio:   


Ring:  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you're interested in requesting something, please send us a message at curlsandcrown on Tumblr. We're up for anything Bughead.
> 
> Written by J. 
> 
> J + R


End file.
